After 13 long years, new details are surfacing regarding the capture and detention of Austin Tice, a Marine veteran and freelance journalist who was taken hostage in Syria in 2012. Tice's family, particularly his mother Debra Tice, has been tirelessly seeking information about his whereabouts and condition.
Recently, Debra Tice publicly shared some details from declassified documents that she and her husband, Marc Tice, were permitted to review earlier this year. These documents, heavily redacted, were presented at the National Press Club during an event commemorating the 13th anniversary of Austin Tice's capture.
According to Debra Tice, the documents are part of a larger collection of information shared with the Tice family by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The family spent 17 hours reviewing eight binders filled with intelligence, much of which was previously uncorroborated, about their son's situation.
Over the years, the Tice family had been informed that U.S. officials lacked new information concerning Austin's capture or detention. However, the reviewed documents revealed previously unknown details, including information about medical treatment he received while being held in Syria. "Our government had information almost every single day of Austin Tice’s detention," Debra Tice stated.
Austin Tice was working as a freelance journalist covering Syria's civil war when he was taken hostage near Damascus around August 13, 2012. He was 31 years old at the time and had previously served as a Marine captain with deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
In December 2024, when the Syrian government fell to rebel forces, there was hope that Austin Tice might be found among the many prisoners. President Joe Biden even stated at the time that Tice was alive, despite the lack of direct evidence. In June, reports emerged that the U.S. government was investigating claims by a former Syrian official that Tice was killed in Syria in 2013 at the behest of then-President Bashar al-Assad.
The recent revelations mark a significant development in the ongoing effort to find Austin Tice and bring him home.